Tag Archives: Jimmy Landfair

Taking stage from May 5-16 is Project Élan, a brand-new, original, culture-current musical that seeks to shed light on the individual and universal needs of the millennial generation.

Patrons will see more than 60 Summer Musical Theatre Intensive alumni hitting the high notes, showing off their acting chops and putting their best foot forward in this world premiere production! But before this inspiring production takes over The Rep, we wanted to highlight the eight creative minds who worked together to make bring it to Little Rock.

Here they are:

NICOLE CAPRI(Writer/Director/Choreographer)

Resident Director and Director of Education at The Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Nicole Capri is the 2011 recipient of The Governor’s Arts Award for Arts in Education and the author of “Young Artists at The Rep.” Now entering its 10th year, Nicole is also the founder and Director of The Rep’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive (SMTI) program for young artists – the fastest growing program in the history of The Rep. A theatre, music, writing and dance major at The University of Memphis and The National Theatre of the Deaf Professional Theatre School, Nicole has directed and/or choreographed more than 100 productions. Favorite Rep credits include: Next to Normal, Elf, White Christmas, Children of a Lessor God, The Foreigner, Glorious, Godspell, If you Sing It They Will Come, Review the Revue, That 80’s Show, A Christmas Story and Singin’ on a Star. Other credits include; Eve in The Apple Tree(Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf/Cleveland Playhouse/International Tour), “Best Performance” (First International Theatre Festival, Volgograd, Russia), original company of Ram in the Thicket (Off Broadway/Judith Anderson Theatre), “Critics Choice Award” Mary in The Miracle Play, writer/director for The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s 2013 Holiday Fantasy and Director/Choreographer/Editor for the world premiere of Rich Mullins’ original musical Canticle of the Plains.

BOBBY BANISTER (Writer)

The front man of the duo, Cheetah, Bobby has written and recorded six albums of work and numerous singles. Winner of the ASCAP songwriting competition and the rock genre in the Alchemy Songwriting Competition, Bobby’s music has been contracted for licensing for TV shows including “The Real World” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” His former band, Half Priced Hearts was named among “Best Unsigned Artists” on Tommy2 blog, recognized by Perez Hilton on his blog and toured the country playing shows with talented artists including: The Rocket Summer, Honor Society, Kaitlyn Tarver and Action Item. A graduate of Belmont University in Nashville with a degree in commercial music and a minor in music business, Bobby is an Arkansas native who now resides in Los Angeles where he is writing songs for major label artists while finishing Cheetah’s debut EP. “Songwriting is part of who I am and always will be. I’m thankful for the opportunity to put my feelings into the songs that just might be the soundtrack to someone’s day.”

CONLY BASHAM(Writer)

Arkansas native, Conly Basham, is a singer-songwriter, teaching artist and equity actress who now resides in New York City. Conly has performed in the off-off Broadway theatre scene as both an actor and composer, and recently lead a cast with her original folk-scored production of Twelfth Night selected as part of the 2014 NYC’s Fringe Festival. As a cabaret performer, Conly’s original songs have been heard at such celebrated venues as Birdland Jazz Club, 54 Below and Top of The Rock Conservatory at Rockefeller Center. Rep audiences may remember Conly from her SMTI days or from Rep MainStage productions including: Peter Pan, Gypsy, Les Miserables and Next to Normal.

MARK BINNS(Writer/Music Director)

Originally from Little Rock, Mark is a musical director, singer, pianist, composer, arranger and teacher. At The Rep, Mark is music director for the SMTI program, has served as music director for White Christmas, Les Miserables, Memphis and Elf, and was assistant musical director for The Rep’s three world premieres; Treasure Island, Pal Joey and Because of Winn Dixie. Other music director credits include: The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (Joseph, Oliver!, Pippin), The Studio Theatre of Little Rock (The Last Five Years), The Young Actors Guild of Fort Smith (Cinderella), and The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (42nd Street, Hairspray). In New York City, Mark was the accompanist for the world premiere of Mark Hayes’ Gettysburg Address and Requiem at The Lincoln Center. Last season, Mark was the vocal director and arranger for The Rep’s Young Artists for The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Fantasy.

SAM CLARK(Writer) An engineer by day for CenterPoint Energy, Sam is a musician and performer at heart. Sam was a charter member of The Barbara Mashburn Scholarship Foundation, a vocal jazz ensemble, and regularly performs for open mic nights in Fayetteville and around Arkansas. Sam also was a state-level ranked jazz guitarist and has been playing for more than 10 years. An alumnus of The Rep’s SMTI program, Sam now enjoys playing with the guys in the band. Favorite theatre credits include leading roles in Sweeney Todd, Little Shop of Horrors, High School Musical and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Sam is currently working on developing original songs and cover pieces for several shows around the Central Arkansas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amZ_n-emHQw

ROBERT FROST (Writer)

Robert is an SMTI alumnus and is thrilled to be back at The Rep. A graduate of the National Theater Institute, Robert works as a musical director, arranger, writer and director. He currently serves as the Resident Musical Director for The National Musical Theater Institute at The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. In addition to his work with SMTI, select MD credits include the premiere of Jonah and the Whale: A New Musical (7th House/Guthrie Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (7th House) and Pig Iron’s James Joyce is Dead and So is Paris (Connecticut College). As a director, Robert recently assisted Hayley Finn for the premiere of The Secret Lives of Coats and has worked in various capacities with The Playwrights’ Center. Robert also serves as one-half of Frosty Bob and J’s Summer Camp, a performance partnership with playwright/performer Justin Caron. Together, they have created Utopiacopia (Director) and STAY WHERE YOU F***ING ARE: A TRIBUTE TO ELAINE STRITCH (Musical Director/Co-Writer). FBJ’s Summer Camp was recently named “Best Performance Art 2014″ by l’étoile Magazine.

JIMMY LANDFAIR (Writer)

Jimmy is a singer/songwriter and lead guitarist touring with the southern rock band, Bearcat. A songwriting/entrepreneurship senior at MTSU, accepted into the prestigious commercial songwriting program, Jimmy recently released his first solo project EP album “Schoolhouse.” A featured performer at The Arkansas Songwriter Showcase, a lead guitarist with The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and a jazz guitar protégé of Ted Ludwig of New Orleans, Jimmy is excited to be returning to The Rep to write and perform again with the talented team of Project Élan. Jimmy’s music can be found on iTunes and YouTube.

CHARITY VANCE(Writer)

Charity is a professional singer-songwriter originally from Little Rock, Ark. A SMTI alumnus, Charity got her first big break at Arkansas Repertory Theatre starring as “Annie” at the age of nine. In 2010, at the age of 16, Charity wowed the judges of the hit FOX series “American Idol” with her unique rendition of “Summertime.” She continued her pursuit of music, writing and performing and is now living in Los Angeles where she is working to complete her next original music project and focusing on her YouTube Channel – /charityvancemusic.

Seats are $30 and $25 for season subscribers. Get your tickets by clicking here or calling the Box Office at (501) 378-0405! Get more information on the blog here.

Now that Mary Poppins has taken flight and ended its run Sunday, Arkansas Repertory Theatre is gearing up for its next production– a world premiere that will be performed by Summer Musical Theatre Intensive program alumni.

Taking stage from May 5-16, Project Élan is a brand-new, original, culture-current musical that seeks to shed light on the individual and universal needs of the millennial generation. Digital and uniquely undefinable, this generation seeks to find answers in an unpredictable world. And although they may appear to be an age overrun by technology and isolation, their dreams are timeless. The millennial generation still longs for the most basic of human needs – safety, hope and love.

Conceived and directed by The Rep’s Resident Director and Director of Education, Nicole Capri, Project Élan is written by Capri and seven SMTI alumni and staff including: Bobby Banister; Conly Basham; Mark Binns; Sam Clark; Robert Frost; Jimmy Landfair; and Charity Vance. The production, which opens on the 10-year anniversary of The Rep’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive (SMTI) program, features approximately 50 of the best past and present alumni from the last decade of the program.

The musical features a diverse musical score with original songs from almost every genre of music – contemporary-alternative, acoustic-folk, urban-rock, indie-pop, jazz-fusion, Nashville-sound, progressive-Broadway and sunshine-pop.

The word “élan” – is defined in several ways — “to live in the moment,” “to live with reckless abandon and enthusiasm,” “confidence,” and “spirit.” The writers of this piece seek to produce a relevant and relatable musical that speaks to the heart of all generations.

Here is a rundown of the performances:

7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, May 5-8

2 p.m. & 7 p.m. Saturday, May 9

2 p.m. Sunday, May 10

7 p.m. Thursday-Friday, May 14-15

2 & 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16

Seats are $30 and $25 for season subscribers. Get your tickets by clicking here or calling the Box Office at (501) 378-0405!